


Quiet.

by katyah



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Jeremy has anxiety, M/M, Other, Pining Michael, Pre-Squip, boyf riends is implied, it was kinda painful writing thiS, jeremys mom is a BITCH, pretty angsty, this is the summer before the whole squip incident
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2019-02-28 09:52:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13268946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katyah/pseuds/katyah
Summary: Jeremy just wants to have a carefree summer, and for things to just be the same as before.Michael would do anything for his best friend ever.(aka jeremy's mom leaving never gets attention and i think it's important so i'm writing this)





	1. Chapter 1

It was one of those nights. Loud. Scary.   
For so many reasons, every reason hitting Jeremy and affecting him.   
Mostly because of his mom. When she yelled, the whole entire world shook. Maybe even the galaxy. Jeremy swore that.  
It was some time past 8 p.m. after a boring summer day, and Jeremy was in no mood to take his usual place under the duvet when his parents fought. Sometimes, he'd go over to Michael's. Being with Michael made him forget everything. But as soon as he was dropped off the next morning, all of his burdens came rushing back. And it was never guaranteed that his mom would be there when he got back. His dad always was, but he was too out of it to even maintain a conversation with Jeremy. So he usually just went to his room and immediately started a multiplayer game with Michael. Be it Roblox on the computer or something on Xbox, he just started to forget again with Michael's company.   
But tonight was different. Louder, you could say. Jeremy even heard something shatter- plates, perhaps. 

He was scared. 

And he felt terrible to bother Michael.  
Jeremy couldn't stand listening to his mom's yelling, his dad's useless attempts to calm her down, and whatever was being thrown and broken repeatedly. His heart was speeding, he felt like he was losing the ability to breathe. He scrambled over to his phone. Charging, it resigned on his nightstand.

"Michael," his voice was shaky, and he just couldn't calm down. He didn't know how. He never did when he felt like this.  
"Hey, bud." He heard that familiar voice from the other end chime, because no matter what, Michael always seemed chipper. Jeremy didn't answer immediately.  
"Jere?"  
Jeremy observed as his hands shook.  
"Can I please come over? My mom is-" his breathe kept hitching, "-really uh, mad."  
The best thing? Jeremy knew Michael. They had been friends for almost 12 years now, so yeah. He knew him better than he knew himself. And he knew that Michael wouldn't pry, or ask any questions.   
"Yes." His voice was more serious now, laced with concern. He heard some shuffling, "Come over whenever."   
And with that, Jeremy hung up. He threw on an old hoodie, and opened his window, stepping on the roof. He slid down with caution, sitting at the brink for a few seconds before letting himself fall to the ground. He wasn't exactly coordinated, so he stumbled a bit, but was quick to get back on his feet. He considered looking into the window to see what the commotion was, but decided against it. He clenched his fists, trying desperately to calm the shaking in his palms. It was dark out, the sun had just set. There was still a faint pink-purple gradient near the horizon, and on a normal walk to Michael's, Jeremy would've thought it was beautiful. He could barely look at it tonight though. He was concentrated, and also very thankful that Michael didn't live too far. He had walked this path so many times, he could probably walk it with his eyes closed. 7 houses down, turn left, another 3 houses, then he was there at the Mell household. He didn't see either of his mom's cars out, they were probably out. Michael would get in trouble for having Jeremy over without their permission, but he knew it would be okay. Michael was close with his moms, and he was an only child. They'd be fine with it. Jeremy saw that in every single child family, all three were always close. Except for Jeremy and his family.  
When he was young, he recalled his mom and dad being deeply in love. Happy. His mom looked at Jeremy like the most beautiful thing created. And she was his mom- he loved her. They were close. They would talk about how it's okay to be sad. She'd help Jeremy with his math homework, he could never get division down.  
His dad taught him about stars and space. Neil Armstrong, Curiosity, when Jeremy wanted to be an astronaut, and he'd watch animal shows with Jeremy when he wanted to go to Africa and study the animals.  
It wasn't a gradual change at all. It's like, one day, his mom just snapped. She never helped Jeremy with his homework anymore, but as soon as he got a bad grade, she'd lose it. She didn't tell him it was okay to be sad or mad anymore. As soon as he expressed an emotion other than utter happiness, she'd roll her eyes and tell him to get over it. And she always yelled at dad. This put him in a bad mood, too tired or angry or frustrated to teach Jeremy about the cool, little things in life. He wished it was the same as before. He loved Michael's moms, and he was closer to them than his own parents. But he would've liked the support from people he actually lived with.  
He shook the thought off. He knocked on the door.  
He heard rushed footsteps, he knew exactly what was happening with every single step- Michael haphazardly running down the stairs and to the door, and it opened right when Jeremy knew it would.  
Warm light filled the porch, accompanied by Michael's unmatched smile and concerned eyes. He quickly ushered Jeremy in, closing the door behind him.   
"Are you cold?" Michael was looking at Jeremy's hands. Still shaking. "No-" Michael took Jeremy's cold fingertips in his warm hand, they always had that contrast.   
"You're shaking, Jeremy."  
"I-I'm not cold."  
This only made Michael more nervous. "I'll get you some water, and you can tell me what happened? Only if it's okay with you though, Jere." He didn't push, he offered a kind smile and lead Jeremy to the kitchen.   
Michael had one of those kitchens that just always smelled good. His parents were both amazing cooks, and even if they didn't cook, the smell always stuck. Jeremy inhaled. Fettuccine Alfredo. He let out a shaky sigh as Michael came back with a glass of water. "Don't drink all of this at once, take small sips. Deep breathes," he rested his hand on Jeremy's arm. "What happened?"  
Jeremy looked at Michael. He felt lucky. But not any less terrible about the situation going on at his home.  
"She's starting to throw things. Just, more arguing. It was bad tonight p-particularly." He could actually talk now with only minimum stutter, but the shaking hadn't calmed down any. He took a sip of the water, he let one of the ice cubes to fall into his mouth. He chewed it down. Took a deep breathe. He watched at Michael nodded, trying to think of something- anything, to calm Jeremy down. Jeremy read him easily.  
"It's fine." Jeremy said. "I just had to get out." He gave Michael a weak smile. Michael mirrored the smile- but it was forced. He still looked so concerned.  
"Tonight I'm kind of in a Fallout mood." Jeremy said, trying to lighten the mood as he took another sip of the water. He looked down at the table.   
"Sure, anything for you, bud." Michael wasn't quick to reply, but he seemed happier than the few seconds prior. 

Michael waited for Jeremy to finish. And they went to the basement, to do what they did every night they were together ever since they were 8 years old. Video games.


	2. Chapter 2

Jeremy woke up tucked considerately into Michael's bed, he immediately shot up to see Michael in the couch by the wall. He felt a pang of guilt ripple through him. He was in a cold sweat, it was early morning.  
He felt like something was wrong. He wasn't sure what, he just.. felt uneasy. More so than usual. He wanted to wake up Michael. Just to talk. But he had been enough of a burden already.  
So instead of that, he got up to pee.  
Michael's basement was big. When he decided to move from his room to the basement, his mom's were pretty concerned, but let him. He had a bed on one side, then in the middle near the steps resided the infamous TV, game system, and bean bags occupying the space in front that Jeremy knew all too well. Then on the other side of the room was a couch, a couch that Michael saw at an auction long ago. It was old and it smelled bad, but something about it just appealed to Michael. It was pretty charming once you got past how ugly it was, Jeremy supposed. But then again his best friend was Michael Mell. He saw the entire world different. And then there was a small bathroom, installed after michael decided to move in, because Michael clomped through the house at 3 a.m. to the bathroom and it always woke his parents up. Jeremy was thankful for it, walking up and down stairs at night wasn't exactly his strong suit. He stood, letting the duvet fall to his feet as he tried his best to quietly maneuver through the cold floors.  
"Jerebear."  
Jeremy jumped, turning around abruptly to face Michael. This made the other chuckle. "Sorry, bud. Didn't mean to scare you."  
Jeremy was softly smiling now. The only light was the lava lamp on Michael's nightstand and the soft glow of the rising sun.  
Michael leaned up more, "Why are you up at such an early hour?"  
"Bad dream. I don't really remember what happened."  
Michael's eyes flashed concern, making Jeremy hate himself a little. "It's okay, Mikey."  
Michael was blushing. He looked down, patting the spot next to him. Jeremy took the cue and sat, and Michael pulled the recliner so they could lay down. Jeremy was asleep again in seconds.

-

Jeremy wanted anything but to go home. But as he and Michael approached his house, it was oddly quiet outside. Jeremy knew this didn't necessarily mean anything, but it relieved his nerves a bit. Michael stopped at the porch and gave Jeremy a smile.  
"If you need anything, call. Or text. Or just come over again. I'll be there, dude."  
Jeremy nodded and turned, facing the door. He twisted the knob- unlocked. He stepped in and quickly went to the mud room to slide his converse off. Nothing. Quiet.  
"M-mom? Dad?" Jeremy's voice shook, he bit the inside of his cheek and tried to ground himself.  
He started up the stairs, tripping a little, and opened the door to his parents'- well, now only mom's room- empty. He turned and opened the door to his father's office slowly, and sighed in relief at his dad asleep on the chair.  
At least mom was gone.  
Jeremy went into his room and got on his MacBook Pro, ready to just spend the day on YouTube.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hhh this is kind of a short filler chapter! the next chapter will probably have some angst, and deal with the divorce and such.


End file.
